Means for producing flat knitted fabric with inlaid elastic yarn



Aug. 5 1941. e. w. RUEDT MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: Georye Wfiuedi, I

ATTORNEYS.

Aug. 5, 1941. e. w. RUEDT MEANS FOR PRODUCING 'FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov. 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 @QQQQQQQQ INVENTOR.

Gear-ye Wii'uedi By ATTORNEYS.

' W1 TNESSES: W/ZW Q Aug. 5, 1941.

G. w. RUEDT MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov. 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR- (ieorye mfiuedif ATTORNEYS.

W I TNESSES:

TIC YARN Aug. 5, 1941. G. WFRUEDT MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH 11mm ELAS 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 16, 1938 4 INVENTOR: George v ATTORNEYS.

HHHHH HHHHH WITNESSES: I Q Jaw M m Aug. 5, 1941. e. w. RUEDT 2,251,805 MEANS FOR PRdDUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov. 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR:

qzorye Wfiuedz ATTORN YS.

WITNESSES: wZi 7/2225 Aug. 5, 1941. e. w. RUEDT MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov. 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 I INVENTUH.

George Wfiuedi,

I ATTORNEYS.

5, 1941- G. w. RUEDT 2,251l805' MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH INLAID ELASTIC YARN Filed Nov. 16, 1938 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 w g? Q WITNESSES.

Emma;

Y I INVENTOR: & George 7/14"]? zwdl,

A TTORNEYS.

I dicated Fig; XVI shows a fragment of Patented Aug. 5, 1941 UNITED STATE MEANS FOR PRODUCING FLAT KNITTED FABRIC WITH lNLAID ELASTIC YARN George W. Buedfl Wanwatosa, Phoenix Hosiery Company, corporation of Wisconsin Wis., assignor to Milwaukee, Wis., a

Application November 16, 1938, Serial No. 240,691

6 Claims.

. This invention is concerned with incorporation of elastic inlay yarns in plain knitted fabrics (as distinguished from ribbed fabrics), and also with mechanism for accomplishing this result.

The chief aim of my invention isto make possible such incorporation of elastic yarn incident to production of flat fabric on knitting machines of the Cotton type ordinarily employed in hosiery manufacturerparticularly in band areas around the tops of the stockings for service in lieu of garters. I v

A' further aim of myinvention is to enable the inlaying to'be accomplished without change in the usual construction 'of the knitting machines, or interfering with their normal mode of oper; 'ation. y The foregoing and 'other objects and advantages I attain, as hereinafter more fully ex-- plained, through utilization of the picot mechanism of the machines as a means for displacing alternate needles from their normal plane so that the elastic yarn can be laid, either as an incident to normal knitting or as an incident to the' formation of a row of picot stitches, inthe interval thus formed between said displaced and the remaining needles, and through provision of simple elastic yarn manipulating mechanism capable of being easily embodied in the knitting machines for so laying the elastic yarn.

Other objects and attendant advantages of my invention will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings,

' wherein Fig. I is a fragmentary broken out view in front elevation of a flatknitting machine embodying my invention, with portions of the machine framework in the foreground shown in section.-

Fig. II is a fragmentary view in cross-section taken as indicated -by. the'arrows 11-11 in Fig. I.

Fig.

the arrows III-III in Fig. I.

Figs. IV and V are detail sections taken as indicatedrespectively by the arrows IV-IV and v-vinrlg. m.

Figs. VI, VII and VIII are .views like Fig. 11, drawn to a larger scale with the parts of the elastic yarn manipulating mechanism in different successive positions. I

IX, x, mand XII are fragmentary perspective views corresponding respectively to Figs.

m,vr, vn andVIiI. g

Fig. XIII is a fragmentary plan sectional view I corresponding to Fig. x1.

Fig. mv is a view like Fig. 11 showingthe parts of elastic yarn manipulating mechanism 55,

in inoperative position.

with elastic yarn inlaid in a row of non-revel or picot stitches in accordance with my invention.

For convenience of illustration herein, I'have shown the elastic yam manipulating mechanism of my invention as embodied in a flat knitting machine of the single unit type constructed after the manner granted. to Kenneth Howie and Charles C.- Krieble' on December 4, 1937, and designed for the production of full fashioned stocking blanks.

By suitable meansnot illustrated, the bar I (Figs. I-V) carrying the needles 2,. his bodily moved up and also swung in and out abouta pivot axis 3 relative. to the sinkers 4 and dividers (not illustrated) as required to form successive courses of fabric loops in the well known way. An inelastic yarn Y is fed. bya guide 5 1 secured to one of a number of horizontal carrier bands 6 (Fig. I), said bands being oscillated to move the guides back and forth horizontally crosswise of the needles at the level of the sinker notches, likewise in a manner well known in the art. The sinkers I are slldable endwise, as ordiis a detail sectional view taken as in- 'Fig. XV shows a fragment of plain knitted 7 with my invention; and

narily, in a head I which also carries the usual knock-overs 8. The picot bar 9 of the machine, in this instance. has loop-transferring points It corresponding to the alternate needles 2a, and is suspended, by-arms II, from a horizontalshaft I! with capacity to be swung upward out of the way when necessary during fashioning operations with the usual widening 'or narrowing combs (not illustrated) said shaft being Journaled in the guide brackets I! for the comb bars which-are shown at ll in Fig. 11. vThe brackets ll depend in turn from a rod l6 connecting the ends of the arcuate dipper arms 11 of the nar rowing mechanism of the machine, said arms being afflxed to a longitudinal rock shaft. l8 Journaled in suitable bearings l9 at the rear of the machine frame. Through themedium of a pair of vertical links 20, the arms II are actuated to move the picot bar 9 up and down. The machine is further equipped with end holders 2| for welting bars, which holders are secured in laterally spaced relation toa horizontal rock shaft 23 for upward swinging movement from the normal position shown in Fig. III to the position shown in Fig. 'XIV incident to automatic welt closing operations. As shown, the shaft 23,

is Journaled in bearings 24 secured to the longitudinal. front top trough rail or beam 2! of the machine frame and adapted to be operated by inechanism partly shown at 26 in Fig. 11. Mounted on theframe rail-,2! is .a pair of laterally-spaced bridge bars 21 which serve as guides,

for the welt bar (not shown) used to draw oil the fabric being knitted.

To adapt a knitting machine such as briefly deknitted logic so; scribedto the purposes of my invention, I employ disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,982,991,

the

I from the corresponding bridge bar. 21 is a horizontal lever and pivoted on a stud 3| at the inner end of said lever is a fiat vertically-arranged elastic yarn clamping member 32 having a rounded finger 33 at its thinner upper end. Associated with each clamping member 32 is-an opposing vertically-arrangedclamping member 34 having a reversely' curved finger 35 at its upper end, and a cam slot 36 somewhat below said finger through which the shank of a headed stud 31 on the bar 32 extends. Eachclamp assemblage is guided for up and down movement between the contiguous end of the needle bar I and a retaining plate 38 on the corresponding bridge bar 21, and maintained in vertical position, with capacity for limited in and out play, between a pair of studs 39, 40 on thearm; 4| of another pendant bracket 42 on said bridge bar. A coiled spring 43 in tension'between the lower end of the clamping member 32 and an anchorage 44 on the bracket 29, serves to keep the rear edge of said clamping member normally in engagement with the stud 39. At its lower end, each clamping member 34 has apivotal connection '45 with an angular lever 46 which is fulcrumed at 41 on the lever 30. An-

' other spring 48 in' tension between the inner horizontal end 46a of the lever 46 and an anchorage 49 at the corresponding end of the lever 30, tends to normally maintain the clamping member 34 in the position illustrated in Fig. III with the inner horizontal end portion ofsaid lever 46 bearing against the head of the stud 3|, and'with the horizontal outer end portion 46b thereof normally elevated above a lateral underreaching projection 50 on the lever 30. By another spring 5|, the lever30 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. III with its top edge in engagement with the lower end of the bracket 42 which thus constitutes a stop therefon, and with its beveled front end 30a in engagement with a laterally projecting stud 52 on a lug 53 aflixed to the rock shaft 23. Another spring 55 in tension'between an anchorage 56 on the-lever 30 and the clamping member 34 tends to'swing the latter clockwise about the pivot 45. Secured to the drop links 20 through which the dipper arms l1 are actuated. are finger projections 51, which, during downward movement of said links, engage the ends 46b of the angle levers 46 to actuate the elastic yarn clamping devices in a manner presently ex-*- plained. As shown in.Fig's.-VI-VII I, the clamp-- ing members. 32 are formed at their inner edges immediately below the 'fingers 33 with rounded cam projections 32a, which are adapted to coact 60 with lateral projections 58 at opposite ends of the sinker" head 1. From Figs. II-XEII. it will be observed that the endmost loop transferring points In of the picot bar 9 are formed, in accordance with my invention, with lateral inward c5 projections flia for depressing the elastic yarn Y in a manner also explained presently, said projections being notched at their bottoms as shown.

When the elasticyarn Y is to be inlaid during normal knitting of the fabric F produced, by themachine (as distinguished fro'm-inlaying-during formation of 'a rqw of picot loops) the operation of my invention is as follows:

In Fig. IX, the guides 6 and 5a have been con-, currently moved across the needles 2, 2a from, left l to right, the inelastic yarn Y being thereby laid on the nibs of the sinkers and dividers (which latter for simplicity of illustration have been.

omitted in Fig. IX), and the elastic yarn being run over the tops of the sinkers out of the reach of the needle hooks to the rear of the finger 33 of the clamping device at the right side of the machine, said elastic yarn being wrapped around the finger 33 of the clamping device at the left handside of the machine as shown in Fig. I. In Fig. IX, moreover, the inelastic yarn Y has already been kinked by the sinkers and dividers just prior to the downward movement of the needles. In Fig. X, a course C of fabric loops has been formed in the usual way fromthe inelastic yarn Y kinked in Fig. IX as above explained. At this stage, the narrowing-mechanism of the machine is brought intoaction to actuate the picot bar 9, without attendant shagging of the bar in this instance, however to avoid sidewise loop transfer by its points. Upon initiation of the downward movement of the picot bar 9, the projections 51 on the drop links 20 engage the ends 46b of the angle levers 46 and depress them as shown in Fig. VI.' The angle levers 46 are thereby moved clockwise about theirpivots 41, and the clamping members 34 swung about the studs 31 and at the same time lifted bodily so that their curved fingers 35 are moved through the position shown in dot and dash lines at 35m in Fig. III to the position shown in full lines as a consequence of incidental coaction between the cam slots 36 of the clamping members 34 and the studs 31 under the influence of the springs 55. The elastic,

downward bodily with the point bar 9, incidentto which the elastic yarn Y is depressed by the projections Ilia on the endmost points In of said bar, to a level below the sinkers 4 positioned to the front (beard side) ofthe needles 2a covered j byQthe points, and in back-of the other needles 2 as shown in Fig. VIII, where it is detained upon subsequent advance of the sinkers and dividers 'over it as shown in Fig. XI. As the picot bar 9 approaches the downward limit of its movement,

the clamping members 32 are swung inward through engagement of their curved cam edges 32w with the projections 58 at the opposite ends of the sinker head 1 asshown in Fig. VIII. As a consequence, the elastic yarn Y' is released by both clamping devices and stripped from the finger 33 of the left hand clamping device by the knockovers 8. Upon being thus stripped, the elastic yarn will spring up into notches of the projections I 00 on points!!! of the bar 9, so that in rising the displaced needles 2a will pass to one sideof said yarn and the other needles 2 to the other side thereof.

Also during rising 'of the needle and picot bars I and 9,the finger 33 of the right hand clamping device will come up on the inside (sinker side) of the elastic yarn Y, with the resultthat upon reversal of the guide 5a, said elastic yarn will loop around said finger and be held by the latter until stripped therefrom by the knockovers at the-next inlaying of the elastic yarn in the same 'manner as above explained. In Fig. XII, the cycle of picot bar has been completed with restoration of all the parts of the elastic yarn manipulating devices to their normal positions, the elastic yarn Y being zig-zagged between the needles 2, 2a. Accordingly upon formation of a subsequent fabric course upon the needles from the inelastic yamuY, the elastic yarn will be engaged between adjacent loops of the preceding fabric courses. In this way, the yarn Y is not knitted by the needles but inlaid therein as shown in Figs. XIII and XV. In Fig. XV, the yarn Y is inlaid in every third course, but this illustration .is to be considered only as an example of other intervals and frequency of inlaying which may be determined upon in practice. If desired, of course, additional points may be added to the bar ll so that the'elastic yarn is extended to the selvages of the fabric instead of being stopped several wales inward of said edges asin Fig. XV. The present construction has been resorted to to avoid possible diiliculties in seaming up the edges of the fabric in the overed'ge sewing machines ordinarily employed for that purpose. It is also to be imderstood that, within the scope of my infor advance of the sinkers over it, so that upon subsequent rise of the needles to take a new supply of inelastic yarn, those needles which have been displaced as aforesaid will pass up to one side of the elastic yam and the others to the other side of said elastic yarn.

2. Elastic yarn inlaying -mechanism for flat yarn; and wherein the yarn depressing means consists of lateral projections on certain of the needle displacing points saidproiections being vention, the points ill of the picot bar 9 may be spaced otherwise than shown if desired.

,Upon upward. swinging .of the transfer bar holders 2! as in Fig. XIV, the pins flon'the lugs I3 connected to the shaft 23, coact with the bevele d ends "a of the levers 3|, thereby causing the members 32 and ll of the clamping devices to be drawn downward to inactive position out of the way.

By permitting shosging of the picot bar 9 to to open and release the elastic yarn; and wherew transfer the fabric loops from the needles 2 to the adjacent needles to after concurrent feedin of the elastic yarn Y and the inelastic yarn Y as 'hereinbefore described in connection with Fig. IX, and after the first or loop-lifting dip of the regular picot or narrowingmotion and 'notch'ed at their bottoms to hold the elastic yarn temporarilywhen it is released by said manipulating devices.

3. Elastic yarn inlaying mechanism for" flat knitting machines according to claim 1, wherein the manipulating devices are moved up and down with the pointbar, eachliaving the form of a normally open clamp with inter-pivoted components; wherein there is a means operative at the initiation of the descent of said devices to actuate one component of each for the P11111 8 of shifting the elastic yarn laterally and at the same time clamp it against the other component: wherein there is a means operative as said devices reach the limit of their descent to cause them in the depressing means consists of lateral projections on certain of the needle displacing points, said projections being notched at the bottom to temporarily hold theelastic yarn when released by the manipulating devices.

also before the loop-delivering and needle-dis:

placing dip as shown in Figs. VIII and XI, the elastic yarn Y will be inlaidin the picot or run stop band produced as shown at? in Fig. XVI. From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided a simple andreliable auxiliary mechanism forincorporating elastic yarn in knitted fabrics, which can be readily embodied in existing flat knitting machines without entailing structural changes in them' or alteration in their normal mode of operation. Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. In afiat knitting machine having a bar with a straight series of needles, cooperating sinkers, a reciprocating guide for inelastic yarn, and a bar movable up and down with the needle bar ers, to shift the elastic yarn laterally against the backs of the points and to so'hold it during descent of the point bar with the needles, means concurrently operative to depress the elastic yarn 4. The combination defined in claim 1, including, means whereby the clamping devices for the elastic yarn are locked in depressed position out of the way when their use is not required.

5. The combination defined in claim 1, where- 5 in the knitting machine is provided with welt bar holder.

closing means including a" holder for welt bars: and including means whereby the elastic yarn manipulating devices are automatically moved to an inactive position during actuation of the welt fabric courses,-and picot mechanism including needle bar operative upon retraction of the sinka picot bar having points corresponding to eertain needles at intervals along the seriu for transferring fabric loops from certain needles to adjacent needles with attendant displacement of the loop receiving needles from their normal plane, said picot mechanism also serving to effect insertion of the elastic yarn between the needles when displaced while the fabric course with displaced loops is held upon the needles so that, upon formation of a succeeding'iregular fabric course from the inelastic'yarmsaid elastic yarn will be inlaid in the resulting-row of picot stitches.

GEORGE W.- RUldtYl'.

knitting machine having a straight 

